Hough challenging Soucy for Ward 2 city council seat

LACONIA — Incumbent Robert Soucy hopes to retain his seat in Ward 2, but former state Rep. Gregg Hough thinks due to a lack of transparency, there are major changes needed, starting with bringing in new councilors, like himself.

Gregg Hough

Hough is a lifelong resident of Laconia, and is highly critical of his opponent and other members of city government.

Hough, who has degrees in education and business, is a former schoolteacher who has worked at the Laconia Post Office for the past two years. He also served one term in state Legislature, as a representative between 2020 and 2022.

Hough said there are many reasons why he decided to run, but mainly because Laconia is at a crossroads, and the future is in the hands of the voters.

A key aspect to him is transparency. When Hough was in the Statehouse, he sponsored a bill because he felt the city council was making deals “behind closed doors.”

Hough thinks the city council has been in the real estate business, speaking about properties like the Colonial Theatre. He noted millions were spent on its renovation, with much of it bonded, and taxpayers will be paying for it for the next 30 years.

“We have seen bad choice after bad choice, and some that we can’t get out of,” Hough said.

Hough says bringing more residential properties into town, rather than industrial and commercial properties, will only drive up costs for taxpayers.

He is against bringing residential housing to the former State School property, saying, “You think taxes are high now? Ridiculous.”

Hough spoke on the issue of homelessness, saying one faction believes unsheltered people are “poor desperate souls” who are down on their luck and need help, and the city should help them. The other faction, which he aligns with, is that hard-working people aren’t OK with giving out money to help them get back on their feet.

“The question is: what is the government’s role?” Hough inquired. “It is not to be the caretakers to any particular group. Do I want them to get help? Absolutely. But I won’t have taxpayers pay for it. No way.”

“Sooner or later, someone will die, or get hurt for real with the homeless situation."

Hough said roads are poor throughout the city, needles are found in places like Rotary Park, and by going door to door, he's found residents are fed up.

Much of it, he said, is due to the current city council, which he said is “really compromised.” He finds it strange Soucy was appointed over him with no due process after the death of Councilor David Bownes in 2020. He said the same scenario occurred with the appointment of Ward 5 Councilor Steven Bogert, as well as the recent appointment of Interim Mayor Charlie St. Clair.

“The fix was in,” Hough said. “More than half of city council was appointed by the city council. It is just awful. They do what they want with no repercussions and no transparency.”

Hough called out leaders for having illegal meetings together at a bar following regular meetings. He also said his opponent is hypocritical in complaining that mayoral candidate Mike Bordes is a sitting state representative, while having a mayor and city councilor in the state Legislature, as well.

“They literally lie to your face, because they can get away with it, and I’ve had enough of that,” Hough said. “The people who live in this city deserve way better, with honesty and clarity.”

Hough said his father and grandfather both lived in the city their entire lives, like him, and he is familiar with what should and can happen.

“These people will try to have their buddies and cohorts build on State School property as many affordable housing units as you can get to overburden the city,” Hough said.

Hough recently spoke at the Taylor Community, which he notes houses after half the voting residents in Ward 2. He told them they can walk around their property and not be worried about homelessness and needles, and take in the beautiful area.

“I just want that for the rest of us,” Hough said. “I don’t see why it is so hard.”

Robert Soucy

Soucy has lived in the same house for the past 54 years, and the former Laconia Police officer-turned-Aavid employee feels his knowledge of the city and business experience make him the right choice in this election.

“I have plenty of leadership and business experience,” Soucy said. “That is my skillset, and I don’t think my competitor has any of that.”

Soucy was reelected to his seat twice after being appointed by the council following the death of David Bownes in 2020. While he is a registered Republican, Soucy has stressed the city council should be run in a completely nonpartisan manner, in the best interest of Laconians. He described himself as being a “fiscal conservative, but socially moderate person.”

As the chair of the city’s Finance Committee, Soucy is proud of consistently keeping Laconia under the designated tax cap during his time in office.

“We have one of the lowest tax rate cities in the state, and we have to be creative to operate under the tax cap,” Soucy said.

A hot button issue in Laconia is devising a plan to address homelessness, which Soucy calls a “tough problem” and says if he knew the true answer on how he could tackle it, he would be a multi-millionaire. He said the city needs to continue to work closely with social agencies and continue working to find jobs for those who are dealing with homelessness and poverty.

Another issue is affordable housing, and Soucy said one of the city’s prominent landlords, Harry Bean, does not want this. He said “all his buddies” are pushing candidates to run against him, saying this is the case with Hough, as well. He also named mayoral candidate Mike Bordes and current Ward 5 Councilor Steven Bogert, saying “they are all under Harry Bean’s control.”

“The city council just passed a zoning ordinance, and we changed the law to allow more dense housing in the city,” Soucy. “This will increase inventory. Supply and demand, as inventory goes up, price goes down. Harry doesn’t want that.”

Soucy said those who are state legislators running the state budget shouldn’t be running for city council, saying it is a “real conflict of interest,” although legal.

One of his biggest pride points is that he is nonpartisan, and while he is a fellow Republican with Hough on the state level, it has no place in city politics.

“In city elections, my partisanship is for the city of Laconia,” Soucy said. “I won’t be told what to do by a political boss, and won’t let ideology lead me. I do what is best for the citizens of Laconia, and not just the political party.”

He equates the city council to a board of directors, where they vote on various ordinances and work to stay within the tax cap. This is where his financial background comes in, noting for 42 years he worked for Aavid, in both sales and manufacturing.

“One thing is, you need to work as a team,” Soucy said. “If you aren’t a team, you’re not going to win.”

He recognized that on the city council, members don’t always agree, but they learn to work out problems together. Soucy said roads are a priority, but it is important to stay within spending means, and not “bond the future away.”

He believes the State School development is a “fantastic thing,” but it will be important to conduct the proper traffic studies and ensure it aligns with the upcoming master plan.

Soucy defended the transparency of the current city council, saying everything they have done has been according to law.

“Everything is wide open,” Soucy said. “All our meetings are wide open, and all our minutes are wide open. We don’t have ‘old boy discussions,’ like some say.”

Soucy asked voters to cast a ballot for him, saying that it is “experience, honesty and openness” that should land him a reelection bid.